Humanity's Encore
by Comrade Elm0
Summary: After the Syndicate Wars and the Great Floods, the human sangheili alliance is crippled, and forced into cryogenic sleep. They awake 12,000 years into the future, seeing a world very different than the one they left behind. During a perimeter sweep, they find a creature, who reveals that the alliance has been swept into the middle of a long dormant, but ongoing war.
1. Prologue

A middle-aged man sat down in front of a camera. The camera is more like a Go-Pro in a waterproof case on a tripod. There was no one else in the room with him, since they had all been evacuated off world. The man then pressed a button on the desk, and then the Go-Pro beeped, signaling that it was recording. "Good Evening," the man spoke, "My name is President Johnathan Duncan of the United States of America. I am currently sitting in a room known as the Oval Office, in a building known as the White House, which probably won't exist in about... 10 minutes." The president said this while looking out the window at the gargantuan wall of water in the distance.

"I know that countless other scientists, historians, and politicians have noted the history of the world before me, so I'm just gonna tell you what happened in the past 5 years that triggered humanity's downfall. And I can only hope that you future civilizations watching this can translate this." President Duncan was only 45, but the stress of the past few years had caused his appearance to age dramatically. His hair was glacier white, and he had countless wrinkles and deep shadows under his eyes. He raised his hand to his hair and slicked it back, took a breath, and began to speak.

"Earth year 2014. Earth is visited by a peaceful alien race known as the Sangheili. Sangheili stand seven to eight feet tall. They have skin that ranges from silver-grey to black. Their head elongates forward from their neck like that of a velociraptor, and their mouth is comprised of four mandibles that can move individually, or in synchronization to eat and speak. There was a mass cultural exchange, and they introduced a new way to generate power by harnessing ions from the air. These ion generators were introduced and solved our climate change problem. Oil and energy companies weren't happy about this, but everyone was so enthusiastic about clean and safe energy, that the companies had no choice.

Let's move to 2015. As with all good things, like the Sangheili, there's a dark side. That dark side being a Sangheili named Vul M'daleev. Vul was hellbent on the idea that humans were and impure race, and them and all associated species must be destroyed.  
"Vul then did something similar to Hitler's beer hall putsch, an event leading up to World War Two. Vul went to a popular Sangheili gathering place and rallied millions to his cause. The majority of the Sangheili population sided with humanity, so Sanghelios, the homeworld of the Sangheili, fell into civil war.

2016\. Vul's side of the war christened themselves "The Syndicate". The Syndicate ended up winning the war, leaving a glassed Sanghelios in their wake. The term "glassed" refers to the process of glassing, in which Sangheili ships fire concentrated, super-heated beams of plasma at the surface of a planet. The immense heat reduces everything to ash, or molten glassing is complete, the surface has been converted to tanzanite, a glass like substance, thus giving the process its name.  
"Vul then ordered the Syndicate fleet to Earth, to repeat the glassing process.

"2017. The Sangheili fleet that discovered Earth was alerted to the glassing of Sangheilios, and the approach of the Syndicate fleet. Supreme Fleetmaster Rtas 'Vadum was commanding the discovery fleet, and was more than ready to fight his own species for the betterment of another.

"The Battle for Earth, 2018. Rtas pushes the Syndicate to the arctic poles, to avoid as much collateral damage as possible. The two fleets duke it out, and the Sangheili emerge victorious, or so they thought. The plasma reactors on the destroyed Syndicate ships began to overload, sending out massive heat waves, melting the ice caps like never before. Only then did Rtas realize his mistake. Water levels began to rise globally. In an effort to preserve Human-Sangheili presence on Earth, two cryogenic facilities are built; one housing thousands of Human and Sangheili civilians, the other holding one hundred humans and 50 Sangheili. The other facility serves more militaristic purposes. Thanks to the presence of the Sangheili discovery fleet, we were able to evacuate billions of our kind off world."

The president sighed and looked into the distance at the fast approaching wall of water. "And that finishes my little history lesson. The old saying goes 'A captain goes down with his ship.' America is my ship. And I, the President, am its captain. I bid you farewell."  
In the background, the deep rumble of the super-tsunami could be heard. President Duncan said his last words: "God bless America". The rush of water and crashing noises followed, leaving the waterproofed camera floating around.


	2. Chapter 1: Frozen in Time

Classified military location in Utah

Twenty minutes before arrival of super-tsunami

Captain Jack McCree was a 25 year old man. He stood 6'1", had brown hair and hazel eyes. He had over 20 decorations for acts of military valor. "McCree," a voice said behind him. Jack turned around and saw the ever familiar and cigar-smoking Sergeant Avery Johnson. Johnson was a 46 year old African-American man, standing at 6'4". Johnson had a habit of smoking ultra-filtered nicotine free Sweet Williams cigars. "Sir?" Jack responded. "Are all the vehicles in the motor pool?" Jack looked down at the tablet with the checklist on the screen he was using to count every vehicle. "All warthogs, pelicans, falcons, scorpions, hornets, wraiths, banshees, ghosts, and phantoms are accounted for." Jack said, referring to the code names for each vehicle. Johnson replied, "Good work captain, now get inside. We're going to sleep." As Jack walked into the underground facility, an announcement came over the PA: em style="box-sizing: border-box;"All personnel finish moving personal belongings into stasis chambers. Final cryogenic sequence will initiate in T-Minus ten minutes./em Jack hurried to his quarters, and put whatever items he had left into stasis chambers, 2' by 2' boxes meant to store and preserve biodegradable items for prolonged periods of time. Once all his items and clothes were put into the chambers, Jack slipped into a neoprene cryosuit.

He then began to walk to his designated area, Cryobay Q. Once inside, he saw a very familiar orb. It was silver with a blue photo-receptor at the front. The orb was 343 Guilty Spark, a self-contained AI that had come with the Sangheili. Guilty Spark hovered over to Jack and spoke, "Hello Captain! You should be aware that the remaining members of Fireteam Nova are already asleep, excluding Sgt. Johnson." Almost as if on cue, Johnson strode in. "Ah, hello Sargeant!" "Let's just get this over with." Johnson replied. "Oh. Of course sir." Guilty Spark replied, switching over to a more serious tone. Johnson climbed into his designated pod, Q4. Guilty Spark then administered anesthesia, and Johnson was asleep in seconds. Guilty Spark then hooked Johnson's veins up to a machine, which in turn pumped out his blood, to freeze it. Then, the capsule's door closed, and on the display the temperature dropped rapidly to aout -5,673 degrees fahrenheit. Guilty Spark then turned to McCree and immediately regained his happy demeanor. "Your turn!" the orb exclaimed. McCree did as he was told, stepping into the pod, letting Guilty Spark do his thing, then everything went dark.

Hey guys, Deadender here. There will be aspects of both Halo and Splatoon in this story. And this time, i'm writing this with my mom's permission. Sort of. Later!


	3. Chapter 2: Awakening from Extiction

Unknown wake up date

Classified military location in Utah

Jack's head was pounding, not knowing where he was. In all fairness his blood had been taken out of his body, frozen, his body frozen, his body thawed, and his blood thawed and pumped back into him. As his vision became less blurry, a figure in front of him drifted into view. "Hello Captain!" Guilty Spark exclaimed. The loud noise from Guilty Spark elevated his headache from a 10 to an 11. He felt the chemicals burning the inside of his stomach. Jack then doubled over in the pod and vomited.

"Are you alright Captain?" Guilty Spark inquired. Jack nodded, wiping the bile from his mouth. "Well in that case, it's time for your post-cryo medical checkup!" "Great," Jack said "another trip to medbay." Dr. Wilhelm Von Strassman was a stocky German Man, with round-rimmed glasses and a thick German accent, as well as top-medical honors.

"Good day Captain." Wilhem said as he took Jack's vitals. "Hey Wilhelm" Jack responded. "How is everything?" Wilhelm asked, his accent making it sound like em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Haw iz everiting?" /emJack said "It's good, except for the fact that I was frozen for who knows how long." "About 12,000 years." Wilhelm replied. The concept of being able to be successfully frozen for 12,000 years with few side effects except for nausea surprised Jack greatly. He wasn't expecting Sangheili cryotech to be so effective. He was also certain the Sangheili weren't either. Just as the exam was finished, someone walked into the room. The person who walked into the room was a Sangheili known as Thel 'Vadam. Thel was the Arbiter, a holy position given to only the most honorable of the Sangheili. The Arbiter wore armor made of a gold-brass alloy. Thel's armor looked heavy, but was actually very lightweight. "Human," Thel said. "Commander Roosevelt has requested our presence. Our entire team is to report to the briefing room in 10 minutes. Get out of that hospital gown and get dressed. I don't like the way it exposes your backside. It's very inappropriate." Thel walked out of the room muttering about how humans have no respect for decency of the body. Commander Roosevelt was in his 30's. Having been a Navy SEAL in the raid to kill Osama bin Laden, he was well built.

"Good day gentlemen," He began his address. "Let's start by answering one of the most immediate questions you must have. The current date is November 25, 14,235. As you were briefed during your medical exams, it's almost 12,000 years in the future. Any other questions?" Fireteam Nova responded with silence. "Good. now here are your orders. In order to rule out a potential threat outside the base, Nova team will sweep everything in a one mile radius. Find anything of interest, bring it back Clear?" A few scattered "Yes sirs' went around the room. 15 minutes after the briefing, Nova team was gathered outside of the airlock. "Let's just take a quick attendance." Johnson said.

"Mcree"

"Here"

"Danvers"

"Here"

"'Vadam"

"Here"

"Del Rio"

"Here"

"Byers"

"Here"

Alright, we are to be accompanied by a squad of 10 marines. They should be arriving now." Synchronized footsteps filled the hall behind them, and soon they were looking at a group of 10 UNSC (United Nations Space Command) marines, MA5D assault rifles at the ready. "And one more thing before we begin; we don't know what's out there. The external security systems and scanners are fried. If anything comes at you, shoot to kill." Then Johnson pulled the lever to open the airlock. The door popped open, accompanied with an inviting rush of fresh, unrecycled air that practically pulled the team outside. They then set out.

"This looks nothing like the Utah landscape." The Arbiter commented. He then poked a strange purple mushroom, which in turn rapidly changed from color to color, eventually stopping at green. The Sangheili smiled, a strange dog-like grin that could put fear into anyone not accustomed to the alien. About half a mile into the sweep, one of the marines spoke up. "Guys, I don't think that's good." The marine said, gesturing to a clawmark on a nearby tree, with a strange purple liquid splattered in some places. "What in the name of the seven blades could have made that?" Thel said. Then, Johnathan Danvers, the biological analyst of Nova team said "Hold up, I got something on my HUD. It's coming from the east, and fast." "Weapons ready." Johnson said. Everyone pointed their weapons eastward. Almost as if on cue, something burst through the trees. "Fire!" The Arbiter shouted. A series of gunshots and a shriek signaled the creature's death. Green blood splattered all over the trees. Danvers was the first to step forward

Upon closer inspection, the creature was best described as a wolf with a shark's head, the size of a bear. "Fascinating, what evolution can do to these creatures." Danvers transmitted the biological data to everyone's HUD. Jack's eyes were drawn toward the dozens of red dots on his radar, now that they were marked hostile. "Similar biosignatures, incoming!" Multiple wolf-sharks burst through the treeline into the clearing, and gunfire erupted all around them. Constant whizzing from the bullets, and death shrieks from the felled wolf-sharks, mixed in with electric zaps from the Arbiter's carbine filled the air. In about 5 minutes, the clearing was littered with the bodies of the sharks, the remaining 7 retreating as far away as possible. "Is everyone alright?" Johnson shouted. Mixed positive replies concluded that there were no human-sangheili casualties, with the exclusion of one marine getting clocked on the head for singing "baby shark", an old human song that had to be classified as audio-terrorisim. Once the all clear was given from the base to press on, they advanced for about 5 minutes, until more of the weird, purple substance that was found on the claw mark was seen on the ground. "The hell's that? Didn"t we just see this stuff at that clawed-up tree?" Johnson commented. "Hey guys, you might wanna see this!" another marine said, sounding like he had just made the discovery of a lifetime.

After joining the marine, everyone was seeing the same thing: four humans. But they weren't human. First of all, the purple goop that was found on the ground and on the trees was seeping from their wounds, the size of which was consistent with the claw size of the wolf-sharks. Their ears were pointed like that of an elf, and instead of hair, they had tentacles that looked like those of an octopus. "So this is why those sharks were here. They were drawn to the scent of death." Thel said. Then Jack noticed something: the chest of one of the creatures was steadily rising and falling. They were still breathing! Jack rushed to the creature and placed two fingers on their neck. Sure enough, he felt a dull, throbbing sensation: a pulse. "This one's still alive!" But the pulse was weak and thready. Whatever this thing was, it had lost a lot of blood. "Get me some biofoam, now!" biofoam was a shaving-cream like foam that was used in field dressings to stop bleeding. A marine then threw him a canister of the miracle foam, called such because it saved lives. Jack shook the canister vigorously and sprayed the anti-bleeding foam on the wounds, the most concerning ones being on the stomach region. 15 minutes later, Dr. Wilhelm was clearing a space in medbay for the discovered patient. 


	4. Chapter 3: Discovery of a Lifetime

"Sutures and thread, NOW!" Wilhelm shouted at the nurse, who in turn brought over the wound tray. Wilhelm picked up the needle, and quickly moved, the creature's skin rejoining. "According to the medical scans, no internal organs were punctured. I've taken a blood sample and I am synthesising some for emergency transfusion. I've detected minor head trauma, and evidence of a potential concussion. I will have to wait for her to wake up to be sure." Guilty Spark reported this as Dr. Wilhelm Von Strassman finished closing the creature's wounds. "Her?" Jack asked. "Yes, Captain, her." Wilhelm retorted in an annoyed manner. "I ran a chromosomal scan, and based on the results and physical data, I have concluded that this creature is most likely female." Guilty Spark replied.

"That's one question answered," Johnson said. "But what the hell is this thing?" "I'm glad you asked Sergeant!" Guilty spark replied. "Take a look at this."

Guilty Spark then hovered over to a monitor display. Two small hatches opened up on either side of Guilty Spark's photoreceptor, and he extended two holotendrils; little blue worm-like appendages that allowed Guilty Spark to interact with his surroundings, among other things. He then tapped a few buttons on the interface and a DNA double helix popped up.

"Look here. This creature appears to be some evolved form of cephalopod. I haven't figured out which genus yet, but early test results are leaning towards octopodes." "What now?" Johnson asked. Guilty Spark made an exasperated sigh. "Octopodes is the official name for the plural of octopus." Guilty Spark answered. "Oh." "Why would an octopus evolve to look like that?" Jack asked. "There are millions of possible environmental factors that could have caused this, so that will have to wait." Guilty Spark replied, retracting his holotendrils. "Done. the creature is stable and blood is synthesised and ready for transfusion." Wilhelm reported, looking at the hospital bed where the creature was now lying down in a hospital gown. "Thel, take their weapons and armor to the ballistics lab for repair and analysis." Wilhelm ordered. The Arbiter then picked up the rather revealing armor that the creature was wearing, and the water-gun like weapon, which was filled with more of the purple goop.

All of a sudden, Guilty Spark screamed "STOP THE SALINE!", racing over to the IV stand and ripping off the saline drip bag. "What is this?!" Wilhelm roared, his accent making it sound like "_Vat is dis?!" _ Guilty Spark's response was simple: "This creature is saltwater intolerant. I ran a tissue test, exposing the sample to freshwater and saltwater. There was no reaction to freshwater, but when I exposed the tissue to saltwater, the tissue dissolved. And fun fact; SALINE IS SALTWATER! You should have checked with me first!' Guilty Spark ranted, and then politely asked the nurse to administer a freshwater IV drip.

"Germans." Guilty Spark muttered, his photoreceptor flashing with each syllable. Wilhelm did not hear this, thankfully. "Captain, a word, if you will." "Yes?" Jack responded. "Well, since you were the one who found our guest and determined that they were alive, I am personally assigning you to be her mentor!" Jack went pale. In Guilty Spark's world, a mentor would be required to live with, eat with, and teach the mentee. It wasn't any concern to jack that there was a chance he would fail to provide for her. (He had a dog that lived to 13 under his care, but he had a strange inability to keep a plant alive.) The real concern was in the fact that she was a _girl._ "Are you really saying that?" Jack asked. He never really got along with girl partners back in school. In his mind, the only path would be failure. "Yup!" Guilty Spark responded. "And don't worry. I'll have you moved to a two-person quarters promptly! "Hey, Sparky!" one of the onsite doctors said. "Sparky" was a fast growing nickname for Guilty Spark. "I ran the x-ray scan, and get this: the creature has no bones. The skeletal structure appears to be made of a cartilage-like substance." The doctor reported. "Interesting." Guilty Spark said, turning toward the creature. "I will examine the data as soon as possible." "And one more thing:" the doctor said. "The genetic tests determined that the creature is some sort of evolved octopus."

All of a sudden, a rapidly beating heart monitor broke the silence, and everyone in medbay turned towards the creature's hospital bed, where the creature was struggling against the restraints that the doctors barely put on in time. "I need tranquilizers!" one doctor screamed as another injected a dose of a powerful tranquilizer known as alizonomorphate into the IV. Then the creature spoke, saying something in a language that sounded like Japanese mixed with Korean, being spoken underwater. "Analysing." Guilty Spark said. "Adequate translation synthesised. Preparing to open dialogue." He then reported. "I shall display an english-captioned version of the conversation on the monitor. Guilty Spark then told the attending doctors to clear the bedside as he hovered over.

"Hello." Guilty Spark said, the screen displaying the enlgish captions as promised. "I just need you to calm down, neither me nor my biological counterparts are going to hurt you." The creature seemed apprehensive at first, but then examined the appearance of the AI and the doctors, being most fascinated with the hair, and began to speak. "How can I be sure?" they inquired. Guilty Spark's reply was his 'I'm not going to hurt you ultimatum' "If I were going to hurt you, I would have done this." Guilty Spark then entered combat mode, which involved some hidden weapons revealing themselves. Guilty Spark then exited combat mode, returning to his normal state.

"So now let's start off simple: What's your name?" Guilty Spark asked. The creature seemed hesitant at first but then… : Corporall Otome (Pronounced auto-may) Maroon, 6th infantry division, regiment 4, Guardian Corps. "A military personnel! I suppose this explains the weapons and armor we found with you. My name is 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of this facility. Now I'm sure you must have many questions, but I have some for you first. Question one: What do you and other members of your species call yourselves?" "Octolings." Otome responded. "Octolings. Curious. Response noted. Question two: Why were you in the forest?" "My patrol and I were attacked by those… things. We were ambushed. I don't know why." "Response noted. Question three:" Guilty Spark pulled up an image of the weapon that Otome was found with. "What do you call this weapon?" "Mark II Octoshot. Standard issue." "Last Question: who is your military superior?" This question turned Otome pale, paler than her skin had been before. "I...I don't want to talk about that. Just not right now." She responded. "I'm not forcing you. Is there any political leader? Such as a president, emperor, king, duke, etcetera." "Yes. Emperor Apalo Saraveshi. I don't know much about him, and I have never met him."

"Thank you for your feedback. Any questions for me?" Guilty Spark enquired. "Why are you keeping me here?" Otome tried to scream, but was too weak to do so. "I answered your questions, so let me go!" "Ms. Maroon, I must have you know that you are not being held hostage or prisoner. The only reason you have those restraints is because you tried to get off the bed and run, which would have ended badly, both for reasons of your personal health and security matters. When we found you, you had multiple large wounds on your abdomen. If you even tried to get up, there is a strong chance the wounds would rip open, and you would bleed to death. To avoid this, you must remain on bed rest for at least 5 days. If you can promise to not try to get up, I will remove the restraints. Can you promise?" Otome nodded, her voice shredded from trying to scream. "Good. Restraints deactivated." Then Thel walked in, and Otome pointed at him, her eyes wide with fear. "The items are in the lab for repair and testing." The Arbiter reported. "Good work Thel," Guilty Spark said, switching over to english. "Now, Dr. Wilhelm, could you please run a nutrient test on our patient? I suspect severe malnutrition as a result of eating nothing but military rations." Guilty Spark said. Otome then asked something in her language which Guilty Spark then translated into english captions. "What is that thing?" Otome asked.

"That just happens to be the Arbiter." Guilty Spark said as Thel walked out. "At this time his presence does not concern you." Then, Dr. Wilhelm Von Strassman returned with the results of the nutrient test. "It's as you thought. There is almost no vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium, or Potassium. The creature is severely malnourished." Wilhelm reported. "Very well. Order what you must." Guilty Spark responded "Now, Ms. Maroon, would you like anything to eat?" "I am kinda hungry." She responded. Guilty Spark ordered milk and an apple.

Over the next 5 days, Otome received extensive care for her wounds, and received holografting treatment to get rid of her scars. She is now ready to be mentored.

"How am I supposed to teach her english?" Jack demanded. "Not to worry captain! Corporal Maroon has just consented to a neurological modification, which will essentially download the english language into her mind. By being her mentor, you are expected to educate Ms. Maroon about our culture, cuisine, and anything else that she requests. And, if you can learn anything about her culture, that would be satisfactory.

Credits to ChiggerD for the character Otome Maroon


	5. Chapter 4: Transitions

"Will this hurt?" Otome asked as more electrodes were placed on her head. "Ms. Maroon, I'm not going to sugar coat anything. This procedure will hurt. It will hurt beyond your current conception of pain. Since I am adding, removing, and editing your neurons, it will cause mass neuro-electrical confusion, and the confusion will be interpreted as pain, pain that will make you want to die, but you won't. Side effects of the modification include, but are not limited to: Seizure, migraine, memory loss, dizziness, temporary psychosis, and in extremely rare cases, Onset Neuro-Vegitative State Syndrome. You have been warned. Do you still consent to the procedure?" Guilty Spark said, with Otome swallowing a lump in her throat. "Yes. I consent mainly because I don't feel comfortable with you listening in on my conversations, and language learning is not my strong suit." Otome responded. "Very well," Guilty Spark said. The silver orb then nodded to the medical technician. "Initiating modification in T-minus 5,4,3,2,1…"

Otome felt nothing as the technician tapped some icons on the display, but she then heard basic words floating around in her head, like tree, sky, and other basic words. And then, it felt as though her head was vibrating, with her vision becoming slightly double. "Initiate procedure, now." She heard Guilty Spark command to the technician. Then, she felt, the words become more intense, and suddenly, her head exploded, or she wished it would. She saw light, and then darkness, with her hearing being muted. And as suddenly as the pain started, it stopped.

Otome bolted upright on the operating table, gasping for air. She felt a cold stream dribble down her lip, and she realized that she had bit the inside of her cheek. The taste of her own blood was so sharp and unexpected that she leaned over to the side of the table, and vomited. "Ms. Maroon, can you understand me?" She heard someone ask. _Who is that?_ She thought as the workings of her brain drifted back into place. _Ah, yes, that's the Guilty Spark guy. _She remembered. "Yeah, I can understand you." Otome replied, the words in her mouth feeling strange, like she had known them all her life, but had never actually said them. "Well then, Otome, I am very happy to report to you that you have just said your first words in the English language. I recommend that you remain in a sitting position for five minutes due to dizziness from the procedure." Guilty Spark said, his robotic voice showing a tint of happiness. Otome was happy too, with her knowing that she had not suffered from any of the bad side effects that Guilty Spark had listed. "Ow! My head!" Otome complained as she brought her hand up to the side of her head in an attempt to calm the beast of the headache that had just come on.

"And there's the migraine side effect I warned you about. Let me show you to your new quarters and I will give you some anti-migraine medication." Guilty Spark said. "I get quarters?" Otome asked. "Of course! Guilty Spark replied. "I took the personal measure to give you residency within this facility after you denied to discuss your military past multiple times, with evidence of PTSD. Now, let's go."

* * *

Unknown location

Estimated 50 Miles from Human-Sangheili base.

"Alright, alright, alright, Inkopolis! Who's ready to kick off the November Splatfest!" The person on the stage exclaimed. They are in a city called Inkopolis. She was facing a crowd of beings that looked like octolings, but their ears had sharper points, and Their tentacle-hair was longer and more squid-like. These squid-like beings are called inklings. The person on the stage who just announced the splatfest is Callie Cuttlefish, an Inkling celebrity. Callie was part of the pop culture music group, the Squid Sisters. Her tentacles were black, tied in a bow behind her head, the remaining lengths draped down her back. Lower down her style, the tentacles began to fade into purple, and then toward the end, into magenta. There is also another person on the stage. That person is Marie Spletzer, the other half of the Squid Sisters. The band's name has no supporting context, due to Callie and Marie actually being cousins, but almost no one except their manager and a fer stage crew and friends know this. Marie's tentacles were styled much shorter than Callie's, with very little draping length. The color scheme of Marie's tentacles started at silvery-gray, and then faded into a light green at the end. Both of the celebrities wore black dresses with some glitter, with three horizontal stripes in the center, colored to match the ends of their tentacles. In the crowd before them, there were other beings than inklings as well, such as evolved urchins called Urchinoids, and evolved jellyfish called Jellians.

"Now Callie, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Marie said, her calmer and slightly lower in tone than Callie's. "We still have some special announcements for our fiftieth Splatfest!" Marie exclaimed. "That's right everyone! This Splatfest, we will be adding three new maps to the Turf War lineup!" The crowd roared at the mention of the maps.

A Splatfest is a monthly celebration that starts at midnight and lasts for the last three days of the month, in which a game called "Turf War" is played. The Turf War game is an homage to the Great Turf War, a war that broke out between the Inklings and Octarian people, that resulted in the Octarians being banished to a massive underground cave system, and the Inklings securing peace on the surface.

Our first new map is: Port Mackerel, based off of our harbor! The second map is Inkopolis Junction, based off of our very fine network of trains! And finally, Walleye Warehouse! A returning favorite, being brought back from the shelves by popular demand." Callie said, the crowd roaring its approval.

Marie stepped forward, and raised her hand to indicate the crowd to be silent. " Now, everyone knows that the legal age to register for Turf War is 14, and I'm sure many of you have heard these rules multiple times, but we always have new comers-of-age each month, so here's how a Turf War is played!"

The mega screen behind them flashed through a series of colors and stopped at a green and pink display that said "Turf War". "Here's how it works. A Turf War consists of two opposing teams of four, each starting at two symmetrically opposite points on the map. The point is determined by the position of the spawn pads, the big circular devices you see here." Marie said, as the mega screen behind her changed to an image of the spawn pad. "There will be a 5 second waiting period before the game starts. If a team member steps off of the pad before the 5 seconds is up, that member will be disqualified. Once the 5 seconds have elapsed, you will hear a buzzer, and some music will start to play, signifying that it's safe to begin the game. Once the Turf War starts, both teams will have 2 minutes to cover as much of their turf as possible with their color ink. Walls and grated walkways do NOT count as valid areas to cover. Only floors and ramps people! If you find yourself in an encounter with an enemy player, you can direct you ink towards that player. If you or your enemy receives exposure to too much of the opposite color ink, you will splat, and a portion of you ink will be taken back to the Spawn to be regenerated, thus reviving you. Splats can happen even if you touch or walk on enemy ink for too long. Once the 2 minutes are up, whichever team with the most ink coverage wins!" Marie finished.

"Now, as you know, every Splatfest has a theme, so this month's theme is… Cats Vs. Dogs! Be sure to use the kiosks to select a team, and don't forget to take your team shirt." Callie said. Once again, the audience cheered. "But that's not all, Cause this time, we'll be picking two lucky inklings, a boy and a girl, to help us out with our opening concert!" Marie said, getting more cheering from the crowd.

Just then, two trap doors opened up on the stage, and two levers on pedestals rose up from beneath the stage, one pink and one blue. The mega screen switched to two cherry slot displays, one behind each lever. Callie and Marie each took a position beside one. "3… 2… 1!" the audience chanted. The sisters pulled the levers in synchronization, causing the slot displays to begin to spin, cycling through multiple names. The slots eventually stopped at two names.

"And the boy's winner is… Kirk Kelpie!" Callie exclaimed. "And for the girls, we have… Neptune Sireness!" Marie said, following Callie's tone. "With our winners selected, we have nothing more to do. So we'll be rejoining you all at midnight tomorrow for our opening concert, and until then, Stayyyyyyyyyyyy Fresh!" The sisters said in unison, delivering their signature line.

An inkling boy stood in the center of the now dispersing crowd, with an expression of awe. "You must be kirk." Said a girl walking up to him. Kirk, breaking from his trance, said "Yep, that's me." "Well, you must know that I'm Neptune. Neptune Sireness." Neptune said, offering out her hand. He shook it. Just then, a burly looking inkling approached the two. He flashed a badge that said Security Detail. "You must be Kirk and Neptune." he said, looking back and forth between the two. "The Squid Sisters told me to come find ya, take ya to find your strengths and weaknesses." He then turned around to walk back the way they came, Kirk and Neptune needing no cue to follow.

* * *

Patrol perimeter around Human-Sangheili base

An Inkling teen was crouched in the bush, Tentatek Type H splattershot in hand. Her call sign is Agent Three. She was looking at the five beings sitting around a table, playing some sort of card game involving betting with chips. There were two larger creatures, and two strange looking octolings in sandy-green armor, with weird octoshots, and lacking the natural pigmentation around the eyes that all oceanic people had. There was what appeared to be an octarian in power armor sandwiched in between the two sandy-drab soldiers. But there was one thing that was disturbing her the most: She could not understand the language being used by the group.

The transkettle Three took to get to the previously unpatrolled sector she was in deposited her near a clearing. In the clearing, she found the field full of decomposing wolf-shark corpses, with strange, circular marks burned into the bark of nearby trees. Some of the corpses had some of the strange burn marks as well, including strange round holes leaking their green blood. Three also found strange, shiny, brownish gold hollow cylinders on the ground, roughly the same size of the holes on the corpses.

She proceeded about half a mile in a direction battered with footsteps, when she came upon the five card-playing soldiers. _What are they saying?_ She thought to herself as she looked at the group, safely tucked away in her bush. She would have taken them on, but there were five of them and one of her. Then she remembered: her superior had installed a multilingual translator in her headpiece! She turned the dial to activate the device. Three heard some beeping, and then a small chime as the device began to translate.

" Ripa, goin' all in again?" The power-armored octarian said as one of the larger creatures pushed his stack of chips to the center table. "Of course, lieutenant. I have a lucky feeling about this hand. "Is that so?" Power Armor responded. Power Armor then took off his helmet, revealing another set of unpigmented eyes, the irises were a greenish brown, a rather captivating color she had never seen before. And instead of the four tentacles of an octoling, Three's eyes were met with hundreds, if not thousands, of brown fibers. The brown-fibered soldier said something about it being too hot under his helmet and "went all in" as well. The one called "Ripa", revealed his cards to the group, and everyone else at the table groaned defeatedly. "Get Royally Flushed!" Ripa said as he swept in his bounty of chips, laughing triumphantly. Just then, the Brown Fibered octoling touched his ear, and said something about command, and got up and went off. She decided to activate her camouflage adaptor, and followed silently.

Fiber Head entered through some strange looking door guarded by another pair of the sandy-green drab people, most likely being this strange octoling breed. She followed Fiber Head down a series of strange corridors, undetected. As she followed the unknowing soldier, she took time to analyze the schematics of the base, incase she had to make an escape. Fiber Head eventually stopped at a door with some strange markings. Three's headpiece could translate audio, but not text. Fiber pushed a button on the side of the door, and the door slid open. Fiber walked in and said, "Lieutenant William Byers, reporting for duty, sir!" Fiber, now called William, shouted to the Octo-breed sitting behind the desk. "At ease, Lieutenant." Desk man said, obviously out ranking Will.

"Commander Roosevelt, may I inquire why you called me?" Will asked Commander Roosevelt, formerly called Desk man. "You're on Fireteam Nova, correct?" "Yes sir." "Well, Lieutenant, you are most likely aware that everyone in the base by now knows about our guest. Our guest was found in the security sweep. She is an ocoling named Otome Maroon." Roosevelt said. An octoling! Three could easily confirm that everyone in the base is an enemy for helping an octoling. But she needed more evidence.

"Otome's assessments performed by Guilty Spark indicate at a large, and educated culture that easily outnumbers, and overpowers our current military stature. If we can show our good intentions toward all societies that have formed in humanity's cryogenic period, then the Human-Sangheili alliance will be set better off than ever before."

At this point, Three had lost interest in the conversation. She slipped out the still open door. _Humans… _She thought to herself as she wandered down the corridors, still camouflaged. She exited the strange door that she had entered, apparently still open as well. She passed the sandy-green guards as she thought to herself. She had heard the term "humans" Before, but where? Of course, she still needed to alert her superiors about a potential octarian threat only 50 miles from The oceanic supercity, Inkopolis. She pondered the term more, and then she finally realised something that would be essentially unbelievable. The ancient and long extinct race called "Humanity", may have returned.

Once again, credits go to ChiggerD for the characters Kirk Kelpie and Neptune Sireness. I wrote the preceding chapters beforehand, and chapter 5 will focus on Otome And the U.N.S.C. The update schedule will be a little iffy and random, as I am drafting and editing for quality assurance. Later!


	6. Chapter 5: Otome Maroon UNSC

"So what is this?" Otome asked as the strange "Gun" as Jack called it was placed in her hands. "This is an MA5D tactical Assault Rifle. UNSC standard issue." Jack answered, seeming more than a little anxious. "And," Guilty Spark Began to add, "Since your 'Octoshot' is still in ballistics for repair and testing, I personally calculated that you should learn to use human weapons as a substitute." The AI said calmly. "How does it work?" Otome said, holding the weapon all the wrong ways. "Here, let me help you." Jack said, adjusting the Rifle so the business end was actually pointing in a direction where it could make some semblance of non-suicidal accuracy. "Now," Jack instructed, "Squeeze your index finger against the trigger."

Otome did two things wrong; One: She forgot to aim. Two: She did not brace for the kickback.

She was knocked backwards off of her feet as the MA5D shook violently, strange clicking, popping thuds accompanying each tremor. Fire burst out of the rifle's business end. The MA clattered to the floor, the no-grip detection safety mechanism preventing any further gunfire. She looked sheepishly around, and said, "I don't think this is for me."

Otome then tried different firearms, such as the DMR, a semi-automatic long-range rifle, the SAW, a 72 round heavy assault weapon, and the SMG. a simple 48 round rapid burst weapon.

Then, an interesting weapon was passed to her by the ballistics technician. "BR-55." The technician said, "36 Round cartridges. Three shot burst. Light on recoil. It's very efficient." The silver orb of guilty spark spoke next, "The BR-55 is a black powder burst assault weapon. It's the second most common weapon in the UNSC armed forces. I took notice of the fact that you appreciated the Designated Marksman's Rifle, but felt the round-shot rate and the ammunition level were insufficient. This weapon has the same range as the DMR, but has a larger cartridge capacity, and more rounds per shot. I thought you might like it."

Otome raised the rifle, and took aim. The target was in her sights, a simple large piece of paper in the shape of a human, peppered with holes from her previous weapons. She pulled the trigger. As expected, the recoil was light, and three banging clicks sounded in rapid succession. Two holes were punched into the humanoid figure, and one missed by a few inches. She lowered the rifle, and said, "This handles well. I like it."

She then was given the standard UNSC sidearm, the M6H Magnum.

The door to the firing range opened, and a field officer walked in. The officer consulted his datapad, then said "Is there an Otome Maroon?"

"That's me." the octoling said, stepping forward.

"I need you to come with me. The Commander wants to see you." The officer said, trying not to stare at Otome's Unique features, from the markings around the eyes, to the strange tentacle-hair. "Ok." Otome said stepping up. Jack and Guilty Spark began to follow, but the officer put up his hand, saying, "The Commander is only seeing the, uh…" "Octoling" "Yes. The octoling. Proceed with your normal schedules."

With that, the officer walked out, and Otome followed.

The door to Roosevelt's office slid open, and Otome stepped inside, nervous. She had heard many stories in her old military force, of single, low ranking troopers being escorted alone into a high ranking official's office, and indecent things were done. She wondered what would happen to her. Would she suffer the same fate as those low ranking troopers? "Ah. Ms. Maroon. Please, have a seat." The man sitting behind the desk said, gesturing to one of two empty chairs. She took a seat, and scooched the chair up to the desk.

"So, let's get started. I don't want to alarm you," _Oh no._ she thought to herself "But following UNSC neuro-psycological protocol, during your neuro mod procedure, Guilty Spark took a memory analysis recording, and the evaluation technician saw you have a very messed up past. Losing your parents in a house fire, Conscription into your military, physical abuse, sexual threats, thankfully none of which were carried out. And being denied rank promotions by some pretty psychotic higher-ups. I'm sorry this happened." Otome felt a sting at the mention of the house fire, caused by a faulty wire, but was glad someone understood her for once. She thought of being punched and kicked in sensitive areas by the other infantry, and the higher-ups doing virtually nothing. And because she looked good for an Octoling, the constant threatening, demeaning messages and taunts being delivered by the males were incessant. And the promotion to private-corporal that she deserved and never got stung especially, given to one of the worst infantry members who barely qualified. A tear slid down her cheek, and her hands wrang nervously. "But, at the UNSC, there are opportunities. People who will respect you. Comrades in arms. I'm offering you a chance to never have to go back: Enlistment into the UNSC armed forces." "I'll do it." Otome said meaningfully. "I know you've had military training in your past, but you'll have to pass UNSC standard assessments and simulations, an-" "I said i'll do it." Otome said, a little annoyed. "Very well. I'll get you ready for a physical assessment." Roosevelt pushed a button on his desk, and spoke into thin air. "Dr. Strassman?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Could you prepare a space in medbay?"

"Ja, but vat for?"

"I need you to give a recruitment assessment."

"Yes sir! Right away, Sir!"

With that, the comm call ended.

"Alright Otome, I'll review your medical report when it comes in, and I'll make the final say. In the meantime, here's a wristhud to help you navigate the facility. I'll mark medbay as your destination." Roosevelt pulled a wristwatch like device out of a drawer, and tapped a few buttons. The device was passed to Otome, and she was dismissed.

"Stand vith your back erect." Wilhelm instructed. Otome complied, as Dr. Strassman moved a metal rod with notches in it standing parallel to her. He took some notes on his data pad, and said "Five feet and seven inches tall, and weight at 165 pounds. Overall you are in good health. I will send your measurements to the armory and the health report to Commander Roosevelt. I vish you luck." Otome got off of the bed, and walked out of the medbay. She decided to see where her new uniform was, so she remembered something about a "Fabrication room", so she decided to go there. The wrist hud ignited a blue path on its screen, and the text indicated for her to follow the path. After being led down a series of long hallways, she stopped at a door labeled: Fabricator Area. She went inside, and much to her surprise, the spherical form of 343 Guilty Spark was hovering near One of the Strange cylindrical machines, of which was humming in a soft fashion.

"Hello Ms. Maroon!" the orb chimed, positive as usual. "Or should I say, Cadet-Corporal Maroon! After reviewing your medical report, Commander Roosevelt just approved a fast track enlistment program for you! The program will begin tomorrow." A smile crept onto Otome's face, but her curiosity wiped it away, as her attention was drawn toward the strange cylindrical machines. Guilty Spark took notice of Otome's redirected gaze. "I see the Type B fabricators have caught your attention."

"That's what these are?"

"Yes, and as much as my algorithms would be tickled pink to explain it all to you, It's a closely guarded UNSC secret. It's a shame, really."

One of the Fabricators beeped, and a hatch slid open, revealing a Olive green stack of folded clothing articles, lapel facing upward. The orb handed the articles to her, and she examined a small tag on the lapel, of which read: MAROON. Her Uniform. She would actually have a name to be called by, not some silly ID number. She remembered it, AT-967B-2.

It had been only eight days since she had been saved from the brink of death, and she was already getting ready to leave her old life behind.

The door to her quarters would not open, and instead a message on the interaction pad said; _**PLEASE SYNC WRISTHUD**_. She tapped a few icons, but to no avail. Sync? What did that mean? She still had a little trouble reading English, but Guilty Spark said that would fade. "Do you require assistance?" A deep voice said behind her. Startles, Otome turned around, and was met by a large, alien figure with blue armor. The figure had dark skin, and had the four mandibles of the alien inhabitants of the facility. "I am Tiso 'Nazaam. Corporal-Minor Tiso 'Nazaam, that is." The alien extended a four-fingered hand to her, and she shook it gingerly. "I see you are experiencing difficulty with your wristhud device. Allow me to assist you." Tiso said. He delicately took otome's arm, and tapped a few icons, much different from the ones she had spammed, and her name appeared On a digital panel next to the door, underneath someone else's: Private-Field Captain Jackson "Jack" McCree. Then the door slid open, and Otome stepped inside, followed by Tiso.

"A two-person quarter room. You are fortunate." Tiso said, inspecting the room visually. The room was reasonably sized, with a small sofa, with a holoscreen in front of it. Two doors were positioned on opposite sides of the room, leading to the sleeping areas. She went into the left door, which was her room. Tiso waited for 7 minutes, while Otome dressed herself in her new uniform. "How does it look?" Otome said, walking out. "The uniform suits you well." Tiso said. "Thanks." Otome said, a little unnerved that the alien complemented her openly. "My staff rotation for dinner will begin soon. I would like to invite you. And before you think I am attempting to court you, know that it is physically impossible for Sangheili to express romantic or sexual interests to non-sangheili species." Otome made a silent sigh of relief, and followed Tiso to the mess hall.

The line in the mess hall was long, but Otome would much rather like to wait for a human meal than have to eat one more chalky Octarian nutrient block. The food synthesiser had four choices tonight: Hamburger, Steak & Vegetable Plate, Spaghetti Bolegnese, and Fried Sangheili Spikefruit. She had taken a liking to the human dish of pasta, so she selected that option. The synthesiser hummed, and a plate of noodles with small chunks of meat appeared on the synthidish. She took the plate, and walked to a seat across from where Tiso had taken a seat. Some of the marines gave her a strange look, but she ignored it. She ate her pasta while Tiso ate a plate of something that smelled sweet and spicy at the same time, a rather pleasant smell. The two exchanged small conversation, and Otome headed back to her quarters to get some sleep. A very big day laid ahead.


End file.
